


My Ex's Ex

by kokopri



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Angst, Comedy, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Side Dojae
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-05-05 20:55:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14626869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kokopri/pseuds/kokopri
Summary: "Are you serious?" Jaehyun laughed, even though he was the one with sauce splattered all over his face. "Momo's ex is your roommate?""Yeah. It's so awkward." I muttered. "He has pink hair now.""Is he cute?"Is he cute? Well, he does have a nice butt-Wait. What.





	1. One

_Ten ___

The first day anywhere was always harrowing. First day of high school. First day at a part time job. First day at college.  
College in itself was so intimidating, I almost forgot that I was gonna have to live in a building full of strangers for the next four years. We would get a different room every year and while it was spacious, we were supposed to share it. It was two to a room. I was torn about that. I mean it guaranteed at least one friend, right? But what if my roommate was weird? What if he snored at night? What if he stole my things or didn't clean his side of the room? Ugh. 

My roommate hadn't arrived yet. His parents' house was a forty minute car ride from the university and he was slowly going to bring in his stuff over the week. Maybe he was too lazy to pack, or perhaps he just wanted to stay home for a few more hours. SNU didn't allow day scholars.  
But when I got back to the room after the first day of classes, I found the door already open, around five suitcases and a couple of boxes littering the hall. 

"Yeah, Mom. I got all my stuff." I heard a voice from inside the room. It sounded familiar. "You didn't have to send them, though. I said I'd get them."

I stepped around the luggage and knocked at the door before entering. The guy was more or less the same height as me and had dyed his hair a light shade of pink.

"Hey." I cleared my throat when the guy turned around, a huge smile on his face. A smile that was quick to disappear. "I'm Ten-"

I stared at him, too dumbfounded to do anything else. 

My roommate was Taeyong. Lee Taeyong. My ex's ex.

 

Taeyong nodded, trying to act non-chalant but I knew he wasn't expecting to see me either. 

"Long time, Ten."

"Yeah." I looked around and cleared my throat again. "So you just got here?"

"A few minutes before you did." He answered. "My father just left. Can you help me move in the boxes?"

I nodded and threw my bag on my bed before moving towards the suitcases that were littered outside the door. Taeyong followed me and we lugged in the biggest one together.

"Ah, just keep it by the door." He muttered. We brought in the rest of the boxes as well and I collapsed on my bed, breathing hard.

"Why do you need so much stuff when your parents live close by?" I asked, blinking the sweat out of my eyes. I felt something cold against my arm and I jerked it away, only to find Taeyong hovering over me, offering me a bottle of water. I sat up, taking the bottle from him as he bent down to open one of his suitcases. 

"Yeah, I don't plan on going home a lot, so.."

"Why not?"

"Been living there for eighteen years, man. I'm tired of that place." 

I nodded in response. I knew what he meant. If I was in his situation, my Mom would force me to come back every other weekend. But we all needed college to learn to be independent. No point running back home every time. 

"So what major are you?" I asked, placing the bottle on my desk. Our room had two beds and two desks squeezed into a narrow space along with two cupboards. Thankfully, there was a window so it made the room seem less suffocating. There was barely enough room to walk. Taeyong's luggage had taken up a major portion of the floor. I had unpacked all of my things yesterday and my bags were stowed beneath my bed. 

"Engineering. Computer science. You?"

"Liberal Arts. Music to be more specific." I had been saying that all day today. So many new people. So many introductions. 

"Nice." Taeyong said. I thought he would continue the conversation but he didn't. I could too but I had waited too long and it would just seem awkward if I said anything. 

I sat there for a while, watching Taeyong unpack his stuff at lightning speed before it occurred to me that I should offer to help. 

"Do you-" I was cut off by my phone beeping. I picked it up from my table and saw that it was a text from Jaehyun.

_Wanna go look for that place Taeil hyung told us about? The one with the tasty chicken wings?_

I texted back a short reply, saying I would meet him in the lobby. His room was two floors above mine. I stood up, reaching for my wallet when I saw Taeyong looking at me. He turned away quickly, though. Should I invite him? He was a native. Maybe he'll know the way around. 

"I was er- headed out to this um, place where they- I mean I'm going out with a friend." I managed to stutter. "Do you wanna come with us?"

Taeyong smirked and then shook his head. 

"No, I better get this stuff arranged."

I nodded and left the room. What sort of torturous awkwardness had I signed up for? 

 

\--  
_Taeyong_

"Momo, where are you?" I asked. She'd gone to Daegu to visit her grandmother last week. I knew she was with family but the least she could do was text me back once in a while. We had barely talked and everytime I asked her what she was doing, she never answered me.  
"Taeyong, baby, I'm going out to get some stuff for my grandma." Her end was totally silent. No sounds of doors closing, no footfalls. Nothing. "I'll text you when I get back."

She hung up again. That's pretty much how all our conversations had been for the past week. Normally when she was out vacationing, even to relatives' places, you could see it on her instagram. This time, she hadn't uploaded a single photograph. That's what worried me the most. 

What didn't she want me seeing?

I cursed out loud and Johnny hissed. We should have been studying but I was too agitated and he was too.. lazy.

"Don't swear in front of me, Lee." He said flipping through the channels on the TV. "What happened? Trouble in paradise?"

"Momo.. she's being weird." I said.

"Isn't she in Daegu?"

"Yeah, and we haven't had a proper conversation all week!"

"Let her spend her holidays in peace." 

"Please. Daegu's boring. What could she be busy with? She's home anyway." 

"You don't know." Johnny grinned. "She could be out, clubbing with a guy hotter than you."

"Ha, ha. Her instagram is empty."

"Snapchat?"

"Empty."

"Twitter?"

"She doesn't use twitter."

"What about facebook?"

"I- don't know. I'm not on facebook." I reached for his phone. "Are you?"

"Momo isn't on my friendlist."

"And you can't view someone's profile if you aren't friends?" I asked. 

"Depends on the privacy settings." Johnny sat up and snatched his phone from my hand. "You're being clingy, Lee."

"I am just worried!" I groaned. "Can't you check for me? Please."

"You really should give her some space. She'll come back to Seoul, right?" Johnny was giving me his judgy look but it didn't make me feel guilty at all. I needed to see. "But since you're my friend, I'll help you stalk your girlfriend on social media."

"Yes. Thanks."

"Hmm. Let's see." He was tapping away on his phone. "Momo.. Hirai.."

I waited for him to say something when he shrugged.

"Can't see her profile. Sorry, Lee." 

"Ugh."

"Yuta is a mutual friend, so- hey, where are you going?"

I hastily grabbed my phone and texted- yes, triple texted Yuta. I was just too desperate.

I didn't even get to actually asking Yuta to let me see Momo's account on facebook. I had multiple people text me the screenshot. On their own. 

The first text I got was from Irene noona. She was a senior and had graduated two years ago. 

_Taeyongie. Isn't this your girlfriend? ___

__At first I thought she had done a neat job photoshopping the picture, just to mess with me, but then Seung Cheol, another friend from a different class sent me the same picture with a "WHEN DID YOU TWO BREAK UP?"_ _

__The next day, I was out with a few people from school when Johnny called me._ _

__"Did you see?" He asked._ _

__"Yes, but I don't believe in screenshots."_ _

__That's when Yuta spoke up. "No one showed you the actual post?"_ _

__I shook my head as he whipped out his phone. I almost wished he hadn't._ _

__Seeing that post by some guy called Ten Chittaphon, who had his arms around Momo, on her tip toes, kissing his cheek, made me want to walk straight to Daegu and punch him hard._ _

__"He could be an ex." I said._ _

__"Momo's hair is blonde in the picture. She hasn't dyed it before." I heard Johnny's voice on the phone._ _

__"Yeah. Yeah, you're right." I was numb for a moment but then my brain started working. "Johnny. I need to see you like right now."_ _

__Him, and Ten._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was initially Chanbaek and I had written this part before with EXO characters but I changed them to NCT now. I got a little confused with the characters so bear with me if the first part was confusing to you too. Future chapters will be longer so please look forward to it.


	2. Two

_Taeyong_

"I found him." Johnny said as I walked into his house. He was sitting at the dining table, his laptop in front of him. "You can send him a message, but I can't say for sure if he'll see it." 

"Why not?" I asked, taking a seat next to him. 

"Doesn't show up in the main messages area." He answered. "Many people ignore message requests."

"I have to try, though." I said. "You think I'll sit quietly when this son of a bitch is out there making out with Momo."

"You know it could be a platonic kiss in that picture." Johnny tried to reason as I threw him a dirty look. "He could be her cousin."

"Chittaphon is a Thai name. Momo is half Japanese, not Thai."

"Okay, fine! And what are you gonna say to him?" 

"I don't know. Ask him how he knows Momo?" I shrugged.

"He won't ever reply to a text like that." He said and tapped on the Message icon. Then he began to type.

Johnny: Hey, u mofo. who the fuck u think u are, huh? messing around with my girl? stay away from momo. she already got a man. so fuck out of her face.

And before I could say anything and edit out the swear words, he had pressed enter.

"Are you mental? He'll think I am a crazy werid thug." I said, hitting his head. "Who even talks like that?"

"That's what you're worried about, Lee Taeyong?" Johnny smiled. "Now be quiet and wait for his reply like a good child."

"What's the guy like, anyway?" I asked.

"Cute and photogenic." He paused. "I can only see his cover pictures but like they're all good. I can see why Momo would go out with someone like him."

"What? You think he's hotter than me."

"Tae, you're my best friend. I absolutely do not think you are hot."

"Fuck you." I muttered. "But still, who would you say looks better?"

Johnny assessed me up and down, and then turned to his laptop. A picture popped up and both of us began our analysis.

He was cute, okay. Had that boyish charms girls dig. And a good camera. Also nerd glasses and- oh my God! That smile. Wow. His eye smile could give Jeno a run for his money.

"I'll score you both equally." Johnny said. 

"You don't have to lie." 

"No really. He's really cute and girls like that, but your face is more.. sharp and mature? Hot in a sense? Yeah." Johnny said.

"It is, isn't it?" I grinned.

"No homo, though."

"He-"

I was cut off by a ping.

"He messaged back." Johnny announced.

Ten: Dude. Momo is my girlfriend. Who tf are you?

I shifted the laptop towards me and typed hastily. Oh boy. He asked me who the fuck I was? With his whole chest. 

Johnny: who am i? i'm momo's boyfriend. we've been together since June

His reply was just as quick.

Ten: Look, man. I think you got the wrong person.   
Ten: There's loads of Momos out there

Johnny: Momo Hirai?  
Johnny: Blonde  
Johnny: 17 yo  
Johnny: Lives in Seoul  
Johnny: Half Japanese?

Ten: umm...

Johnny: Has a mole under her left boob

"What?" Johnny laughed. "Why did she show you the mole?"

"Uh.. we kinda had sex?"

"Whoa." He huffed. "How was it?"

"Not the time for this conversation, Johnny."

"Oh, okay." He pointed to the screen. "Why isn't he replying?"

"The typing bubble comes and goes." I muttered. "Is it a different Momo?"

"Yeah, except they have the same face." 

"Whatever."

_Ping._

Ten: Well, that's specific  
Ten: she cheating on you, man

Johnny: you too, tho???

Ten: we started going out like two weeks ago  
Ten: so i guess i'm just a summer fling

Johnny: AND YOU'VE SEEN THE MOLE ALREADY

Ten: lol  
Ten: yeah

Johnny: wth

Ten: lmao I always thought she was too pretty for me anyway.

"Well, looks like Momo played both of you." Johnny slapped my back, laughing. "Sorry, man."

"Haha, you think this is soooo funny." I muttered, as I began to type again.

Johnny: Don't confront her about it.

"What?" Johnny said, sounding confused.

Ten: What?   
Ten: You want me to go out with her when I know she's two timing

Johnny: Just a couple more days  
Johnny: I have a plan

The devil works hard, Momo Hirai.  
But Lee Taeyong works harder.

 

\---

_Ten_

 

"Are you serious?" Jaehyun laughed, even though he was the one with sauce splattered all over his face. "Momo's ex is your roommate?"

"Yeah. It's so awkward." I muttered. "He has pink hair now."

"Is he cute?" Jaehyun asked. Is he cute? Well, he does have a nice butt- Ugh. Stop it, Ten. "Pink hair is hard to pull off. Only people with idol like visuals look good with it."

"He looks okay, I guess." I shrugged. "But it's so flashy."

"Introduce me to him." He said and turned back to his chicken. We had found the food truck Taeil hyung had told us to visit but it was so crowded, we had to wait twenty minutes for our order.

"He's probably not gay." 

"No harm trying, right?" Jaehyun shrugged, and for some reason it bothered me. "Besides, you said he's a good ki-"

"Please, do not bring that up, Jaehyun." I smiled. "Or I'll put ketchup over your chicken."

"Ew. You crazy." Jaehyun hated tomato ketchup with a passion. I mean he legit screamed like a girl when the vendor almost put ketchup on his plate. 

"Whatever. What's your roommate like?" I asked. 

"Super scary, dude." He sighed. "He's as strict as my mom. I took a shower before coming here and he gave me a huge ass lecture about not leaving the towel on the bed."

"Well, you really shouldn't." I said.

He threw me an exasperated look. 

"Should we switch roommates?" He said. "You don't like Taeyong and I don't wanna spend a whole semester getting scolded."

"I don't- when did I say I didn't like him?" I raised my eyebrows. "It's just awkward. We'll drink together one night and it'll be fine. You deal with your roommate on your own."

"But don't you wanna room with me?"

"Yeah, not really."

"Why not?"

"We're not compatible, Jaehyun. Try to understand." I said as he threw me a wounded look. "We're both lazy. No one would clean the room. No one would fill the water bottles. No one would do the dishes. No one would draw the curtains. No one would throw the beer bottles out."

Jaehyun blinked twice. 

"You're right." He said. "Let's get some cans, though. We could drink in my room."

"Too tired."

"Come on, please." Jaehyun pouted. 

"I have an 8 am class tomorrow." I answered.

"We don't have to get wasted." He rolled his eyes. "Just one can." 

"Fine, fine. You won't shut up if I say no." I said. "Let's go."

We headed to the convenience store talking about random stuff. Jaehyun was an Art major too, and we shared most of our classes. Except the optional Activity class. He had Sports and Games, which started at nine, while I had Fine Arts. I had the option to take the three p.m class too, but if I took the eight a.m class, I only had two lectures and was over for the day by half past one. So instead of being stuck till five on a Friday, I choose the eight a.m class.

Hopefully I would survive. 

"It's just fine arts in the morning for you, though." Jaehyun said. "You'll be able to draw even if you were hungover. How will I run laps?"

"Then don't drink."

"I can run. Don't bail on me." He said as we entered the store. 

"Just get a six pack."

"Eight."

"You said we weren't getting wasted tonight."

"But it'll be weird if we drink alone in front of my roommate." Jaehyun said. "We should get some for him too."

"That's why I said six, dumbass."

"But the-"

"Ten?" 

I whirled around trying to locate the source. Not that it was too difficult.

"Johnny Seo." I smiled. He hadn't changed much since the last time I saw him. Still super tall, with those charming looks and soft brown hair. "Long time."

"Oh, man. You're in SNU too?" He grinned as we shook hands. "Have you met Taeyong yet?"

Jaehyun and I exchanged a glance. "Yeah.. he's kinda my roommate." 

"No way!" He said. "You're kidding. What major are you?"

"Liberal arts."

"They don't room people from different majors together though." Johnny said. "Did you request it? Did Taeyong? Interesting..."

"Whoa, Ten! You requested for Taeyong?" Jaehyun said. "You knew he was gonna attend SNU?"

"What? No!" I said. "I just requested for a student who wasn't the same major as me."

"Why?" Jaehyun asked. 

"I was scared I'd be stuck with you."

""Hey, my roommate is a different major too. How?"

"Because you registered for the dorms so late they didn't have empty rooms. They told you. Anyway I forgot to introduce you two. Johnny, this is Jaehyun. We're-"

"Best friends."

I rolled my eyes. "He's a friend from high school."

"That's all our relationship means to you?" Jaehyun said. 

"Go get your beer." I said. 

"Beer?" Johnny laughed. "On the first day itself?"

"Well, it was exhausting." I shrugged. "Wanna join us?"

"Sure. I was getting bored so I decided to explore around for a bit." 

"Alone?"

"Well, I asked Taeyong but you know how he is."

"Ah, I don't really know him that well." I said. "It's not like we kept in contact after... what happened with Momo."

"Oh? I thought you guys were close." Johnny said.

"Why would you think that?" I said, heading to the counter as I saw Jaehyun come back with the beer. Eight pack.

"Well, Taeyong used to talk a lot about you." He said. "And he told me last week that you were in this college too, so I thought you guys were on speaking terms."

"Oh." I said.

Weird.

Taeyong and I really hadn't talked much after what had gone down with Momo. It was a mess. I mean it was a well thought out plan and shit but it got messy in the end. All three of us got hurt and it became super awkward. I couldn't even talk to Momo's grandmother properly whenever I saw her around town.

"Ah, but we follow each other on instagram." I said as I remembered. "He must have seen my story about coming here." 

"Hmmm, but it's amazing how you two ended up roommates." Johnny said.

"It would be more funny if Momo turned up in your dance class, Ten." Jaehyun said and the two laughed together.

"Please don't scare me." I said. "She's attending college in Japan but thanks, I won't be able to sleep for a few days now that you've put that thought in my head."

"Hey, Johnny." Jaehyun said as he paid for the drinks. Johnny had bought a few snacks. "You're coming to my room for drinks right now."

"Yeah, Ten already invited me."

"Lol. We'll have fun. Let's fill Doyoung in on Ten and Taeyong's story."

"Who's Doyoung?" Johnny said.

"My roommate." Jaehyun answered with an evil smile. "All of our acquaintances should know their dramatic backstory."

I rolled my eyes again. These two should not be allowed together. "You really don't have to do that, Jaehyun."

"Oh, we do." Johnny said. 

 

Thankfully, Jaehyun and Johnny had gotten distracted by the time we reached the dorms. His room was on the same floor as mine, but we headed upstairs to Jaehyun's room. 

"Your roommate isn't gonna have a problem, right?" I asked. "Didn't you say he's strict?"

"Who says no to free alcohol?" Jaehyun looked at me like I was crazy as we entered his room.

It was dark. Was he asleep already.

"Good evening, Doyoung!" Jaehyun said as he flipped on the light switch. It was half past ten. His roommate was sitting on the bed, earphones plugged in and the way his phone was in front of his face, I presumed he was on a video call. "We brought beer. You wanna-"

"MOM! IT'S LATE." Doyoung shouted. His eyes widening as he tried to drown out Jaehyun's voice. He was wearing a tee shirt with bunny prints. Pretty sure there were matching pajamas under the blanket. "You should go to sleep. I have to study some stuff. What? Beer? No. Why would anyone say beer. You're just imagining things. Yeah. Talk to you tomorrow. Yes. I'll wake up on my own. You don't have to call me. Bye. Yes, bye. Yes, I'll tell him. Now, bye."

Johnny and I looked at Jaehyun. He was cowering in a corner. All three of us knew Doyoung was gonna explode any second now.

Instead he just sighed. 

"Are you mental, Jaehyun?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't know-"

"It's whatever." Doyoung shook his head. "Sit down. You guys, too." He cleared some space on his bed and smiled weakly. "I'm Kim Doyoung. Architecture."

I introduced myself as Jaehyun and Johnny settled down on his bed. Johnny knew Doyoung since he was in Architecture as well. That left me to take the spot on Doyoung's bed. I don't know why Jaehyun said he was strict. Seemed pretty nice to me.

"Wait- didn't you say you brought beer?" Doyoung said. "Are we allowed to bring alcohol in the dorms?"

We exchanged looks.

Jaehyun spoke up. "Well, I'm not sure. But who would find out? I'll throw out the cans first thing in the morning. We brought some for you too, so..."

"I don't drink." Doyoung said, biting his lips.

"You don't or you haven't?" I asked.

"I-"

"Come on, man. It's college." Johnny said. "High time you started."

"Don't know how you held off for so long, though." I said. 

"All of you have drunk before?" Doyoung asked. "How old are you?"

"Oh, eighteen." Jaehyun said. "But Ten's parents own a bar. So we used to sneak in bottles a lot."

"A bar?"

"It's a restaurant where rich people come to get wasted." I explained. 

"I used to drink with Taeyong's noona."

"His noona? Not with him?"

"Oh, she's cool. Not strict at all. She used to laugh at Taeyong when he refused to drink."

"But why are you guys drinking right now?" Doyoung asked. "Don't you have classes in the morning?"

"We're drinking light." Jaehyun said. 

"Those are eight whole cans."

"And Ten here would finish half of them in... dun dun dun-" Jaehyun started.

"-Ten minutes!" Johnny finished.

"Great! Now you two finish each other's sentences. Just get married."

"Not a bad idea. Then we would-"

"Adopt you."

"And Doyoung."

"And Taeyong."

"They're this bad and they haven't even started drinking." Doyoung muttered and I cracked a smile. 

"Don't worry. They're harmless." I said and then waved my hand. "Pass me a can. I'm tired and I want to sleep. Try it, Doyoung. If you don't like it then give me your can I'll finish it for you."

Johnny ripped open all the packets of chips and placed them on the table between Jaehyun and Doyoung's bed as the cans were distributed. Two to each.

"Chugging contest?" Jaehyun said as he popped open his can.

"Sure."

"What's that?" Doyoung asked. 

"You drink everything in one go. The person who finishes first wins." Johnny explained.

"You don't have to do it, Doyoung. It's your first time so drink slowly. You won't like the taste anyway. Plus if you drink so fast you'll throw up and that's a waste of perfectly good beer." I smiled as Doyoung looked at me blankly. "But don't be scared."

"You guys are like.. experts."

"Ten definitely is." Jaehyun said. "He's this super rich kid so he's tried all sorts of expensive wines and stuff. His family has a wine cellar too."

"Yeah, enough about me. Let's drink now, shall we?" I rolled my eyes. If I wasn't there to stop him, Jaehyun would expose everything about me in one sitting. 

"One, two, three. Go!"

Johnny was the first to put down his can. But.. he didn't win. He hadn't finished his drink. 

I was next. I took in a deep breath, scrunching up my nose and the bitter taste hit me. 

"Pass me the chips." 

Doyoung looked at me in awe while Jaehyun threw me a dirty look. 

"You cheated!" Jaehyun said. His can wasn't empty either. 

"How?"

"You practiced behind my back!" He said dramatically. "You went drinking with someone else! Who was it? You're cheating on me."

"You guys are together?" Doyoung asked.

"Drink up, Doyoung."

"It's bitter." 

"You have to finish one can at least." Jaehyun said.

"Who'll drink his other can?" Johnny asked.

"Since I won the game..."

"You're the only one in here with an eight am class."

"But I won."

"Fair point."

We spent the next two- or maybe three hours talking. Meaningless talk. I ended up drinking my own two cans, Doyoung's can and half of Johnny's. Johnny left to go back to his room sometime past twelve, and Doyoung went to bed at one. It was two and Jaehyun and I were cuddled on his bed watching the new episode of Tokyo Ghoul.

"Ten..." Jaehyun mumbled as the ending song started to play. 

"Hmmm?" I said. 

"Go back to your room."

"Can't I stay here?" I yawned. "I'm tired and drunk and your bed is warm."

"Yeah, the bed is small." 

"I am small."

"Go away."

"You brought me here and now that you're done having fun with me, you're throwing me away."

"You started watching dramas during the holidays, didn't you?"

"Yes." I said. "Please don't make me move."

"Come on. I'll walk you to your room."

"I can go on my own." I said, throwing aside the covers. "I don't need you or your help, Jung Jaehyun." 

I stood up too abruptly, and wobbled around for a few seconds before I regained my bearings. I wasn't too drunk. Just... buzzed? Yeah. 

I left the room muttering a "Good night" and made my way down the stairs, patting my pocket to make sure I had my keys. The door was unlocked when I got to my room. 

But.. the lights were off. And no Taeyong. 

Hmm. Was he out? But it was so late. 

I moved to my bed. Wait a second. Was it the left one or right one? 

Ugh. Who cares. I put an alarm for seven in the morning and collapsed on the nearest bed. 

Good night, Taeyong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so I finished the chapter early so a mid-week update. It's still Sunday updates only but if I can keep up, I'll post on Wednesdays as well.  
> This chapter is twice as long as the first one and hopefully, the next will be longer.  
> Leave down comments. (psst.. it helps for faster updates)  
> Thank you to everyone who left kudos. Love y'all.


	3. Three

_Taeyong ___

__It was actually Ten's alarm blaring "Tell Me" at seven in the morning that woke me up. I could get ready in under thirty minutes and make it to class if I skipped breakfast so I had an alarm of 7:20._ _

__I groaned as I pushed the covers off of myself. Ten's bed was comfortable but I still didn't appreciate him coming back to the room at two in the morning and kicking me out of my own bed. Like.. I wasn't in the bed when he came in. I had gone down to the washrooms to pee (YES, COMMON WASHROOMS UGH) and when I came back, the door was wide open and Ten was sprawled on my bed on top of my blanket._ _

__I tried to wake him up but he smelled so strongly of beer that I knew my attempts were futile. So I just pulled the blanket out from under him and spread it over him. Then I wobbled over to his bed and got under the covers, after locking the door._ _

__Hmmm, I knew Ten liked to party. He had met Momo at a party for the first time. But would I have to deal with his drunk ass for a whole year?_ _

__Oh my god._ _

__Honestly, though, I thought I'd never have to see him again after what happened with Momo._ _

__It was awkward enough attending the same school as Momo for six more months but ending up rooming with Ten was just god testing my patience. Like.. I had requested for a roommate who didn't have the same major as me, but I had expected someone from pre-med, or I don't know law school._ _

__I had been told that Ten had requested something same. I don't know his reasons but why I wanted this was because people who shared classes with you would... how to put it? Disturb you. Not that I minded sharing my homework assignments but it's still too burdensome. I remember how one of my classmates lived in the same apartment as mine and he would come over all the time to study together. I hate group study sessions unless the other person is serious about it. He would just ask me to play video games after every hour. He would borrow books and not return them. He would drop food on my notes and return them with dog-eared pages. Laugh if you want but Park Jimin had scarred me for life._ _

__Ten was an Arts student and I'm totally not judging but -_ _

__Ugh, stop it, Lee Taeyong. You're just picking faults now. You don't know what he's like so don't be so judgemental. All college students have a huge workload. He won't just laze around and blast loud music and dance when you're trying to study._ _

__I took a deep breath and mentally prepared myself for the day, getting up and stretching._ _

__"Get up, Ten!" I said once as his alarm died down. He hadn't snoozed it off. He hadn't moved one bit. I thought I'd wake him up again after coming back from the washroom but what if he got late to class._ _

__To be honest, he looked so peaceful sleeping like that, his mouth slightly open and his soft hair falling over his face._ _

__"Ten!" I shook him slightly. "Wake up. It's past seven."_ _

__He only mumbled, but hey, some progress._ _

__"Ten, you'll be late for class." I said shoving him hard this time. His eyes flew open and I stepped back. "Good morning."_ _

__"Ugh, thanks for waking me up." He said, lazily rubbing his eyes. I nodded and grabbed my toiletries, heading out after plugging in my phone to charge._ _

__I came back after twenty minutes, showered and all, changed into a long sleeved black shirt and denim shorts, hair slightly wet, to see Ten still sleeping on my bed._ _

__"Ten, don't you have classes?" I asked, as I took my bag out of the cupboard. I hadn't bought any books and since I didn't have my library card yet I only had to carry my laptop, a small rough notebook and a pencil case. Normally I only took a pen to class but we needed pencils and rulers all the time, so I was stuffing it all into a case when I heard a loud thump._ _

__"Shit, Taeyong. What's the time?"_ _

__"Twenty nine minutes past seven."_ _

__"Shit."_ _

__With that he ran out of the room._ _

__I had my Fine Arts class in the morning. It was a two hour long period since it was a sessional class. Then I free periods until two p.m. Three lectures after that. My schedule was totally fucked up. They started at eight everyday and ended by five. Sure I had a lot of free periods in between, like on Tuesdays I only had two sessionals, one in the morning and the other in the evening and the rest of the day was free, but I couldn't leave early._ _

__Fine Arts, actually, was a common class. People from a lot of departments took that subject. It was an easy grade from what I had heard. But I wasn't sure how many people from my department took it. Also I had no clue where the Activity Room was. I had asked a senior and he had told me, "It's in the building behind the Administrative Block. You go back and look for a weird looking tree. That's the door to the Activity Room next to it."_ _

__I'm pretty sure the room would be easy to find and the senior was only messing with me since I was a freshman. It was forty five minutes past seven and Ten wasn't back. I picked up my phone and headed out, trusting him to lock the room._ _

__I knew it was an art class but I had no supplies other than my pencil. Not even a sketchbook. The teacher had said he would discuss the syllabus in the first class and then tell us what stuff we needed to buy._ _

__So I plugged in my earphones and walked downstairs. Our dorms weren't very far from the administrative building so I strolled casually while checking my sns. Basically just instagram and snapchat. Facebook only had junk notifications now. I had a few snaps from Johnny._ _

__Oh wow. He'd sent me a video of Ten chugging down a whole can of beer. They were together last night? Ugh, Johnny must have opened that big mouth of his and said something unnecessary._ _

__The rest of them were good morning snaps that friends from high school had sent me. They tried so hard for a streak. I hardly sent snaps to anyone other than Johnny and Yuta.  
I reached the administrative building by 7:56 and walked towards the back looking for the weird tree. _ _

__Luckily I saw the "Activity Room" sign first._ _

__I walked in even though it was pretty much empty. There were two students besides me. I smiled when I saw them, thankful that the teacher wasn't there yet._ _

__I looked around the Hall. It really was empty. Like literally. There was just a teacher's desk and chair, and a projector screen. No seats for students. It was a big room, though. The walls were painted on- but only halfway. Small sections of the wall had been drawn upon. Pencil, pastels, ink. Water colours too. And signed with roll numbers. Not names. Oh my god, was wall painting a part of the grade? The drawings didn't stick to a theme. They were all random. There were portraits. There was an old lady somewhere, the wrinkles and creases on her face were so realistic, for a moment I stood in awe. The drawing immediately next to it was that of Soshi's Yoona. They were both signed off by the same roll number. I also saw landscapes, and there was a bunch of abstract art too. On one of the corners, someone had drawn a moon with an inky blue backdrop, stars dotting the surroundings. It amazed me that someone had probably stood on a ladder for hours just to paint that._ _

__The walls had a lot of empty space left for more drawings. Honestly, I've always wanted to paint on the walls but my mother never allowed. Not even in my own bedroom. Hmm, if the least I could get out of this semester was painting on the walls, then I'm glad I took this class._ _

__But all of my excitement went down the drain when I turned to the front of the class._ _

__To be more specific, when I saw Ten walk in behind the teacher, rubbing his eyes sleepily, eating a banana. I saw him shove the banana skin into his bag and rolled my eyes. Well, at least he wasn't littering._ _

__He saw me leaning against the wall all the way at the back and smiled. I waved back and he walked over to me._ _

__"What an empty classroom." He said. Not only was it the lack of chairs, there were only around thirty students that I could count. The hall was big enough to seat around hundred students._ _

__"Pretty sure everyone took the afternoon class."_ _

__"Ah, you're right." He said._ _

__"Good morning, class." The teacher said. Wow. Were people this young allowed to be teachers? He looked like he was in his late twenties. All of my other teachers were _old _. "Settle down."___ _

____Everyone exchanged glances and a few people sat down on the floor._ _ _ _

____"I would appreciate it if you all weren't spread around like this." The teacher smiled. "This class is all about interaction. We gotta be social, yeah? Move to the front and sit closely."_ _ _ _

____Once everyone was huddled closer to the teacher's desk, he started._ _ _ _

____"Hello everyone, my name is Byun Baekhyun and I will take your Fine Arts class this semester. Now you're probably wondering why fine arts would require interaction." He paused for a moment before continuing. "None of us here know everything. Some here might be really good at sketching. Someone might know painting techniques better than others. So unless you interact, you'll never learn something new and at the end of the semester you would have gained nothing. Also, I'm teaching you the golden rule to survival in college. Be social. You won't get anything done otherwise."_ _ _ _

____He cracked a smile and some of the students laughed._ _ _ _

____"Okay, so I'll be professional for a brief minute. The first two weeks, we're going to focus on pencil work. Sketching. Human body specifically. And shading. Shading is very important. No shading and your drawing remains a drawing. The proper contours and it will seem as if it's forcing itself out of the paper. Then we'll use pens. You guys read comics, right? That kinda stuff. Hatching, straight lines, dot rendering. You'll have to make a fifteen mark assignment on this stuff." I looked around and saw that a few people were scribbling down whatever Professor Byun was saying. Most of us were only listening to him. "Then we'll do some ink work. Kinda like calligraphy, kinda not. You'll know when we get there. Another assignment on this." I heard Ten groan beside me and like.. same. "You also have soft pastels and water colours. There's no assignment as such but at the end of the semester you'll have to submit a portfolio. With at least ten works. It may seem like a lot right now but just do the work regularly, don't slack off and you'll be fine. The portfolio holds about twenty marks. Your finals will be of fifty marks, but it's hella easy don't worry." He took in a deep breath. "For now, buy a sketchbook and some pencils. Just ask at the stationary shop next to the Architecture department. Mention my name so they'll give you the set of six."_ _ _ _

____He rummaged through his bag and took out a Bluetooth speaker._ _ _ _

____"I've spoken enough for today. I'll put on my playlist and go out for a while. Meanwhile, all of you can draw something for me so that I know what level you're on. There's some sheets on the table. Take it. You can use a pen or pencil whatever you want. Draw anything that comes to your mind when you come say the word 'Beautiful'. Try not to use a reference picture. Stay true to your heart. You have one hour. Bye."_ _ _ _

____And with that he stalked out of the room._ _ _ _

____"How is it interacting when he spoke for fifteen minutes straight all on his own?" One of the guys sitting next to me said, and turned to me. "What are you gonna draw?"_ _ _ _

____I shrugged. "Dunno."_ _ _ _

____Stay true to your heart, Lee Taeyong._ _ _ _

____You know what you want to draw._ _ _ _

____ _ _

_____Ten ____ _ _ _

______"I'm Kun, by the way." The guy sitting next to Taeyong said. "Pre-med."_ _ _ _ _ _

______One of the girls was distributing the sheets to everyone._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Wow, you must be really intelligent." I blurted out as I took my sheet. "I'm Ten."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Taeyong." He said raising a hand. Everytime I looked at him, I couldn't help but die a little inside. Howwwww did I fall asleep on his bed last night? I wasn't even that drunk! He hadn't mentioned it once but still- it was awkward. More than before. "What are you two gonna draw?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"I only know how to draw eyes nicely." Kun laughed. "So eyes. They count as beautiful, right?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"That's not a bad idea." I muttered. "Taeyong, can you model for Kun and me?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"The Professor told us not to use a reference image," he smirked. "Why don't you two draw each other?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"That's not a bad idea, either." Kun said and I looked at him. He was good looking, I have to admit. But.. it's not like I looked at his eyes and thought 'wow, beautiful'._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Hmmm, I'm not feeling eyes right now." I muttered. "You can draw mine though if you want."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Kun nodded and shifted so that he was facing me. Taeyong picked up his bag and again walked to the back of the classroom. The group had more or less dispersed. A few people were sitting on the windowsills. One of the guys sat down at the teacher's desk._ _ _ _ _ _

______I wondered what I should draw._ _ _ _ _ _

______Or who._ _ _ _ _ _

______Nothing had struck me when the teacher had said 'beautiful'. Should I do a portrait of my Mom? It'd be tough without a reference, but.._ _ _ _ _ _

______Momo? When I first saw her at the party, dancing like no one was watching. Yeah, that was beautiful._ _ _ _ _ _

______If I had colours I'd simply draw a sunset or something._ _ _ _ _ _

______But I only had a black ink pen._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Kun, can I borrow a pencil?" I asked, still not sure what I was gonna draw. Think, Ten. When do you use the word 'beautiful', you fat ass. I cast my eyes around the room and noticed Taeyong sitting cross-legged, his notebook on his lap, earphones plugged in. He was staring at the sheet in front of him, one end of the pencil stuck between his lips. Oh they're pre-_ _ _ _ _ _

______Tch, stop it. Stop it, brain. We're not drawing him!_ _ _ _ _ _

______I was snapped back to reality as Kun let out a soft gasp next to me._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Something wrong?" I asked._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Ah, no. Just my Mom sent me pictures of my dogs." He smiled._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Show me." I said with a grin of my own. Dogs were the most precious living beings on this planet and oh wow, Kun's dogs really were cute. "Aww, they're adorable. I have a dog too."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Show me pictures some time." Kun said, putting down his phone and continuing his drawing._ _ _ _ _ _

______That's when it clicked._ _ _ _ _ _

______Of course! I have to draw a dog! Why am I so dumb?_ _ _ _ _ _

______Kun and I made small talk as I began my drawing._ _ _ _ _ _

______"How was your first day?" I asked. "Have any of the seniors approached you guys?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Not yet. But a friend told me that they might come talk to us this weekend." Kun said. "I wonder if the hazing here is extreme."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"I don't think it would be." I said. "It's pretty strict from what I've heard. But I wish I knew some of the seniors here. I don't know where anything is."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Same, omg. It took me ten minutes to find this hall."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"They should give us a map or something." I muttered. "The campus is huge."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Hmm, I still haven't found the shop where they sell ice cream." Kun said. "Like they have ice cream in that cafe but they're almost always out of chocolate."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"I know! I went yesterday and they had no flavours left except Black Currant." I shook my head. "Is that what they're feeding the kids? Black Currant?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______Kun laughed and then pointed to the back of the class. "Why is he sitting alone." I followed his gaze and saw Taeyong. "He got up so abruptly. Did we annoy him?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"I.. don't know. Some people just like to draw in solitude, I guess." I shrugged but just as the thought struck me, I froze. "Or he's mad at me because I slept in his bed."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"You slept- what?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Ugh, we're roommates and last night I accidentally slept in his bed because I forgot which one was mine and I was drunk and sleepy and I haven't even apologised to him."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Wow. He didn't look mad though. Anyway," Kun said, flipping over his sheet so I could look. "What do you think?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"It's cute." I said. "Oh wait, those are my eyes? Wow, are my eyelashes really that long?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______Kun held it up against my face and compared, nodding in satisfaction._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Wow, it really is good." The girl who had distributed the sheets said as she looked at Kun's drawing. "You're so good at shading."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Kun blushed a little at the compliment and muttered a small 'Thank you' as he put the sheet down and picked up his phone._ _ _ _ _ _

______Since the entire time I was looking down at my sheet, Kun had drawn my eyes the same way. They were halfway closed, eyelashes fanning my cheeks and the shape was almost accurate too._ _ _ _ _ _

______I resumed my drawing as Kun continued telling me how a guy in his class called Sicheng had tripped and spilled banana milkshake over another guy, Lucas and the two had almost got into a fist fight but then got distracted when a really cute guy Jungwoo walked in. I was almost done with my shading when Taeyong plopped down next to us, his sheet folded in half so I couldn't see._ _ _ _ _ _

______"And then the two started fighting over Jungwoo." Kun chuckled. "They argued for a solid ten minutes about who would sit next to him and the teacher came in so Jungwoo sat down next to me. The two grabbed the seat behind us so the entire lecture it was just the two whisper shouting and Jungwoo sighing."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Jungwoo as in Kim Jungwoo?" Taeyong asked._ _ _ _ _ _

______Kun nodded. "You know him?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Yeah we went to the same cram school." Taeyong shrugged. "He's not really into the whole dating scene but dunno.."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"People get into all sorts of fuckery in college." Kun said._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Yeah, like getting drunk on the first day of the semester and crashing your roommate's bed."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Kun laughed as he shot me a nervous look._ _ _ _ _ _

______"You don't have to be so indirect, Taeyong." I said. "I'm sorry. I'll treat you to something later."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"I'll pass. Just don't do it again."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Noted." I said. Ugh, so he still gets petty over things like this._ _ _ _ _ _

______Kun just glanced awkwardly at the two of us and thankfully, we didn't have to continue the conversation as the teacher walked back in._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Is everyone done with their drawings?" He said, a huge smile on his face, as he sat down on the only chair in the entire room. "Well, doesn't matter if you finished it or not. Come up one by one, introduce yourself and explain your work. Make us see the beauty."_ _ _ _ _ _

______I checked my watch. There was still a whole hour to go. The introductions started and it was booooring._ _ _ _ _ _

______Half of the people in this class did not know how to draw. There was a girl who had made a Pikachu. It was a good drawing but how big of a fan do you have to be to draw that._ _ _ _ _ _

______The girl who had been distributing the sheets and complimented Kun's drawing was an amazing artist. She had filled the entire page with a bouquet of a huge variety of flowers. Kun went up and introduced his work. Thank god he didn't mention me or I would have combusted on spot when the teacher said he had done a good job. I went up next and introduced my dog to everyone._ _ _ _ _ _

______"My actual dog looks prettier, though." I said and Professor Byun smiled._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Ah, dogs really are the most beautiful." He said. "I miss my dog too. I haven't seen him in over six months. Sometimes I think I miss my dog more than my Mom."_ _ _ _ _ _

______He started and I took it as a cue to sit back down. Around five people were still left. Including Taeyong. He still had his drawing folded so I couldn't see what it was. One of the guys at the front got up but Mr. Byun motioned at him to sit back._ _ _ _ _ _

______"How many of you have pets, though? It's really good for kids to have pets when they're growing up. It imparts responsibility and empathy."_ _ _ _ _ _

______It's not new. For teachers to side-track like this just to waste time. When they had nothing to teach or were just too lazy to teach, they would babble on and on in a way that made you look at the watch more than the teacher until the period was over._ _ _ _ _ _

______I wondered if it was my fault for drawing a dog because that dragged him all the way from empathy and responsibility to respecting your seniors at college and studying hard because.. "Your parents aren't paying your tuition for you to bunk or sleep in classes. So-"_ _ _ _ _ _

______The bell. Thank god._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Okay, then. Enough for today. Buy your sketchbooks and pencils. Try shading spheres when put under a source of light. That's your homework."_ _ _ _ _ _

______People began to file out of the hall and Taeyong was the first to leave. Ugh, I wanted to see what he'd made._ _ _ _ _ _

______Well, actually, I wanted to see if he had drawn Momo._ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sooo sorry i totally skipped this sunday but i've been really busy and also kinda lazy. i know what i'm doing with the story but i haven't done the chapter outlines yet so that's why it's a little tough. i'll try to update soon. maybe wednesday.  
> anyway thanks to everyone who commented and all of you for leaving kudos. please continue to love taeyong and ten even though they're both gonna be really stupid for the next few chapters


	4. Four

Taeyong

"I'm really surprised your Mom let you come to Daegu with me." I said as we searched for an empty table at the Starbucks.   
Remember my master plan? The one where I take sweet revenge on Momo Hirai? Yeah, so that involved me going all the way to Daegu because Ten said in explicit terms that his Mom would 'fly in from Thailand and beat him with a broom' if he sneaked off to Seoul smack in the middle of senior year. Also, I couldn't wait till Momo came back from her vacation. "We got lucky."  
"You got lucky I agreed to come." Johnny grunted as he sat down. I slid into the seat opposite to him. "Seriously, why did I even agree to your stupid plan?"  
"It's not stupid?" I said, glancing at my phone. It was thirty minutes past five and I had one message notification. Ten's short 'omw'. "Ten's late, though."  
"Didn't he say he was on the way?" Johnny rolled his eyes. "Maybe he got stuck in traffic."  
"Wow, Johnny, do I look like I care?" I said. "Stop being so moody."  
"Stop being a jerk?"  
"I'm a jerk?"   
"To Momo."  
I can't believe this. "I'm the one who got cheated on."  
"So you have to do all this- I don't know," he waved his hand around, clearly aiming to agitate me even more. "Scheming."  
"Scheming?"  
"Don't take this the wrong way." Johnny sighed. "I'm just saying that you could be the bigger person and-"  
"Are you kidding me, Johnny?" I said. "You know, aside from the fact that she cheated on me and hurt my feelings, she also made sure the entire school found out. Seniors who have graduated asked me about her. Juniors- literally girls from Jeno's class were asking if it's true we broke up."  
"But-"  
"But what? You think she didn't do anything wrong? Are you taking her side?"  
"I'm-"  
"Who's taking sides?" I heard as he plopped down on the seat next to me. Ten. Oomf, he was even better looking in person. "Hi, sorry I'm late. Please continue your argument. I'm sure the entire cafe is waiting."  
"We weren't that loud." Johnny said.   
"Sure." Ten raised his eyebrows. "Wait, you're Johnny, right? Who's he?" He said pointing towards me.  
"Taeyong."  
"Nice to meet you." He smiled.   
I only nodded. I could see why Momo would go out with him. Hell, if I'd met him before Momo or if he wasn't involved in this mess, I would have asked him out.  
"So what's your master plan?" Ten said, looking at Johnny. "Please tell me it's something good."  
"It's something." I said. "Did you meet Momo afterwards, though?"  
"Yeah, a couple of parties." He shrugged. "I can't believe I didn't notice how fake she is earlier."  
"You didn't say anything about the plan, right?" Johnny asked.  
"No but I kinda ignored her and blew her off so she must know something is wrong."   
Ugh. "What? Why did you do that?" I said.  
"It's weird!" Ten shrugged again. "I can't stand her knowing she's two timing."  
"Understandable." Johnny said. "But for our plan to work, you have to be really sweet to her now."  
"Hell no." He shook his head. "Can't I just humiliate her a bit and break up and you come in and break up with her as well."  
"Sounds much better than your plan, Taeyong." Johnny said. "Except the humiliating her part."  
"Okay, wait a minute." I said. "Why are you protecting Momo?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"You're my friend. You're supposed to hate Momo and give me better ideas." I crossed my arms over my chest. "Do you like her or something?"  
"I'm gonna stop you right there, Taeyong." Johnny said. Ten was quiet and only looking between the two of us. "I don't want you to do this because it's a bad idea. You'll regret doing this. I know you. You only want to hurt Momo right now because she hurt your ego or something but honestly, you'll hate yourself later for pulling through with something like this."  
I stared at him, not answering. He didn't know what he was talking about.  
"And don't be stupid. Why would I like your girlfriend."  
"I-"  
"Wait a second." Ten interrupted, holding up a hand. "Momo is your girlfriend, though?"  
"Who? Me?" Johnny said, eyes wide. "No way. Why would you think that?"  
"You're Johnny Seo? You texted me?"  
Johnny and I exchanged panicked looks.   
"Ah, that.."  
"I used Johnny's account because I don't use facebook." I said. "Momo was dating me."  
"What! No way." Ten said, his eyebrows arching in surprise.  
Johnny chuckled as I narrowed my eyes. "Wha- what do you mean no way?"  
"Why would Momo cheat on someone like him," Ten waved his hand at my face, "with someone like me? Dude looks like he walked out of a webtoon."  
Johnny laughed so loud it attracted stares. I only stared at the two dumbly. Okay, I got that a lot about my looks. But did I expect Ten to just say that all of a sudden?  
No.  
I had talked to Ten a couple of times after that and he definitely rivalled Johnny when it came to sassy remarks.  
"Yeah, beats me." I muttered.  
"Seriously though I can't believe this. We've been talking for so long and you never told me your name." Ten said. "I really thought Johnny was dating Momo. I feel like you were catfishing me."  
"I was not! I did nothing that falls under catfishing!"  
"Don't deny it now, Lee Taeyong." Ten sniffed. "You broke my heart."  
"I'm sorry?"  
"It's fine." Ten winked. "Just treat me to something nice."  
"I'm a nice treat for your eyes, though?" I said as Ten's smile widened.  
"Can you two please stop flirting?" Johnny groaned. "I honestly feel bad for Momo now."  
"Why?"  
"Because the two guys she's dating are both hella gay." Johnny said. "If that happened to me, I'd literally dig a hole and live there for the rest of my life."  
"That's because you're homophobic, John." I said. "But good for us, so is Momo."


	5. Five

_**Ten** _

I went back to my room after I was done with my lectures to see Taeyong curled up on his bed, fast asleep. He had like four pillows on his bed and was clutching one to his chest. He had his earphones plugged in to music so loud, even I could hear it. I plopped down on my own bed and whipped out my phone texting Jaehyun.

_Listen, I’m bored. What are we gonna do this weekend?_

Jaehyun was online so luckily, I got a quick reply.

_Jae: Doyoungie’s parents are still in Seoul  
Jae: They’re gonna go back to Bucheon tomorrow so Doyoung wanted to go see them off at the station_

I sighed. It’s Doyoungie already? Jaehyun got too informal with people too quickly. I wonder if Doyoung was okay with the nickname.

_Ten: get to the point_

He sent back a sticker of an elephant making a funny face.

_Jae: so I said I’ll go with him  
Jae: and probably _

_hang out later_

Wow. So he just abandoned me for a whole day.

_Jae: and we’re not free on Sunday  
Jae: English assignment _

Ugh, yeah. We had an English class on Monday too so there was no way I could put off doing the assignment. I replied with a broken heart emoji.

_Jae: you should hang out with Taeyong too?_

_Ten: he’s asleep_  
_Ten: anyway, I’ll find a new friend for myself you go impress your roommate’s parents_  
_Ten: and doN’T YOU LEAVE THE DORMS WEARING THAT STUPID NARUTO TEE_

_Jae: fine, Mom_

I put down my phone and looked over at Taeyong still fast asleep. I hated the fact that it was so awkward between us. Jaehyun was right. Maybe I should hang out with him or maybe just talk more freely so we’re more comfortable.

I wondered if I should get started with English or do my fine arts assignment first. I got up and took out my sketchbook and the pencils. English can wait for Jaehyun. As I began to draw the spheres Prof. Byun had told us, my mind wandered... to Taeyong.

Okay, I swear I’m not being creepy but for some reason all of the things going through my head involved Taeyong.

Number one. What should I do to make things less awkward between us? It was super weird that we couldn’t even make eye contact the few times that we’ve talked so far. Maybe I should just ask him to hang out tomorrow. But I don’t want it to sound like I’m asking him out on a date or something. Sure he was fun to flirt with before the whole Momo fiasco went down but I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea this time. Did he still like macarons? We could go check out the bakery that Taeil hyung had told me about, or maybe he could show me around or-

Shut up, Ten. Why the fuck do you sound like you’re planning a date with-

I took a deep breath as I began to sketch the sphere imagining a source of light kept on top of it. I willed my mind to think about other stuff. Like that cute guy in the fine arts class. Kun, wasn’t it? I was supposed to send him a picture of Bingo but I forgot to ask for his number. He seemed nice maybe I’ll hang out with him on Saturday if Taeyong is busy. Kun seemed like a really soft person. He even made such a nice drawing of me.

Speaking of drawings, what did Taeyong end up making in class? What did he consider beautiful enough to be put on paper? Did he think of drawing Momo too?

I looked up from my sketchbook, one sphere finished and saw that Taeyong was still asleep. Maybe I could sneak a glance at his drawing. I got up and looked around for his bag, or the notebook he had taken to class. His table was still very clean but there were just two notebooks, both labelled Math and Electronics, respectively. I flipped through them both but no drawing.

So the drawing was still in his bag- which wasn’t anywhere near his table, or even on the bed for that matter. I crouched down and saw that the bag had fallen down in the space between Taeyong’s bed and the wall. He had stowed away his suitcase and the boxes under his bed so the only way I could get to it was crawling over his bed.

And did I mention Taeyong was still asleep?

Any other person with functioning braincells would have just sat back down, waited for Taeyong to wake up and then ask him directly. He was my roommate why wouldn’t he show me the drawing? Of course, if he had drawn Momo, then he wouldn’t show me.

I sighed, wondering whether I should risk waking Taeyong up or go back to my sketchbook and just ask him later.

Obviously, I did the only logical thing.

 

_Taeyong_

 

I woke up before the alarm I had set for my afternoon classes. I wasn’t especially tired but I hated waking up before my alarm so I was a little irritated. Also, the fact that Ten was almost- sitting on top of me wasn’t helping.

I blinked twice, as he shifted around, one of my notebooks in his hand. He was very much straddling me and flipping through the pages.

Was I still dreaming?

No, obviously I wouldn’t _feel_ his weight at all if it was a dream.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I mumbled, trying to sit up.

Ten squeaked loudly before shutting the notebook, and hurriedly made to get off of me. But since both of us moved at the same time, and also because my roommate is a complete airhead, he lost balance, banging his head against mine.

“Ouch, Ten! What are you doing?” My hands automatically moving to his waist when all of a sudden, I noticed how close his face really was.

“I’m sorry I-” his breath tickled against my face. He pushed against my chest trying to sit up. “I just wanted to see the drawing you made in class.”

“You could have asked me later.” I said. Wow, his eyelashes were really pretty, and did I mention he was still very much lying on top of me.

“I- I thought you wouldn’t want to show it to me.” Ten answered. “Also, I’m really sorry I slept in your bed last night I promise I won’t do it again and I promise I won’t touch your stuff either I was just curious and-”

“Ten, relax! I’m not going to eat you.” I said. How was I supposed to stay angry at him when he was looking at me with those puppy eyes?

“Oh, okay but can you let go of me now?” He said, pushing against my chest as I realized my hands were still wrapped around his waist. “I’d like to get up.”

I let go as he clambered off my bed and hopped on to his own. I sat up and checked my phone. One minute till my alarm went off.

I turned it off and got up as well, heading to the cupboard to change out of the t-shirt I had been wearing. It was thoroughly creased now. I pulled it over my head when Ten spoke up.

“Aren’t you going to show me?”

“Wh-what do you want to see?” I stammered, my face growing redder by the second. Wasn’t he being too straightforward asking like that? I quickly put on a blue shirt and turned around, buttoning it up.

“Your drawing.” Ten said. Oh, so he hadn’t been talking about anything weird. “You said you’ll show it to me.”

“Oh, that.” I said.

“What were you thinking I was asking you to show?” Ten said, raising his eyebrows. “Ya Lee Taeyong! Do you think I’m a pervert?”

“I’ll show it to you after class.” I added after a pause. “Maybe.”

“What do you mean maybe? You said you’ll let me see.” Ten whined.

“I didn’t say that.” I looked around for a pen on my table. “I just pointed out that you could have asked to see it like a normal person, instead of- whatever you ended up doing.”

“I knew you wouldn’t let me see that easily that’s why I-”

“Got into my bed?” I said. “You really like it that much, huh?”

“That’s not- wha- how is it my fault your bag was over there?”

“So it’s my fault now?” I frowned. “Now I really don’t want to show it to you.”

“Ugh, you’re so annoying and petty.” Ten huffed. “But I’ll find out what you drew some way or another.”

“Oh, you wanna bet?” I ran my fingers through my hair and picked up my bag and keys.

“Sure. I’ll find out what it was within-” he glanced at his wrist watch. “Eleven hours max.”

“Fine, be my guest.” I said. How did I even think he was cute? He was so irritating whining all the time. “But if you don’t find out, you’ll have to treat me to _jokbal_.”

“And if I do find out?”

“I’ll do whatever you want.” I put on my shoes and moved to the door. I had ten minutes to get to class and I couldn’t waste any more time arguing with him.

“Okay, okay, then! Go out on a date with me.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry i kind of forgot about this  
> apparently i can't update during the semester but i have my winter break so i'll try to update and maybe finish it before the next semester starts


	6. Six

_Ten_

“Go out on a date?” Taeyong said slowly, turning around to look at me with his eyebrows raised.

“Wha-” Did I really say that out loud? “No! No, I didn’t mean _date_ date.”

“What did you- nevermind, I’m late for class.” He said, stepping out of the door. “Let’s discuss this after eleven hours, okay?”

I buried my face in my pillow and let out a muffled scream.

What the actual fuck?

Why did I even say that? I was just supposed to ask him to hang out. Where the fuck did date even come from? Why would I even want to go on a date with him?

Uh, stupid. Stupid.

I picked up my phone and texted Jaehyun.

_Ten: I accidentally asked Taeyong out on a date_

This was the sort of message I knew he wouldn’t just see from the notification bar and ignore, so obviously his reply was quick.

_Jae: how do you accidentally ask someone out on a date?  
_ _Jae: do you still have a crush on him?_

_Ten: I never had a crush on him_

___Jae: yeah sure  
_ _Jae: what did taeyong say_

___Ten: uh we made a stupid bet  
_ _Ten: I asked him what would he do if I won  
_ _Ten: he said whatever I want  
_ _Ten: so I told him to go on a date  
_ _Ten: I just meant to say it in a casual friendly way but idk how the word date came out of my mouth_

 As soon as I finished word vomiting, I felt like throwing away my phone and taking a nap, but Jaehyun just began bombarding me with texts.

_Jae: really Ten why don’t you ever think before you speak  
_ _Jae: but this is hilarious  
_ _Jae: what did taeyong say?_

___Ten: he said he was late to class_

__Jaehyun, being the good friend he is, just sent back different variations of the laughing emoji.

_Jae: so he basically rejected you_

__I sighed. In a more proper scenario, if I had meant it seriously, yes, Taeyong running away like this did mean that he had rejected me.

_Ten: what do I say to him now?  
_ _Ten: I don’t want to make things more awkward_

___Jae: just don’t win this stupid bet and you won’t have to go on that date_

___Ten: are you even listening to yourself?  
_ _Ten: I can’t give up on the bet  
_ _Ten: that reminds me_

___Jae: Ten come oN_

___Ten: do we know anyone from Computer Science engineering?_

___Jae: uh yeah  
_ _Jae: Im Nayeon?_

___Ten: …  
_ _Ten: literally anyone else?_

___Jae: lol sorry no_

__Ugh, did God really hate me that much?

Why does the one person we know in computer science have to be Momo’s best friend?

 

_Taeyong_

  


Right after Electronics got over, for some reason, Im Nayeon came over to plop down on the seat next to mine. I don’t think I’ve talked to her more than twice in my entire life. She was one of Momo’s friends from Busan so that implied that the two times I had talked to her were at that party where the whole… thing with Momo happened. So I didn’t really expect Nayeon to be as happy to see me as she seemed.

She gave me a wide smile and said, “Hey, Taeyong, isn’t it?”

I nodded slowly. “Hi, what’s up?”

“Did you take down the notes for electronics?” she asked, the smile still on her face. “Can I see them?”

“Sure.” I handed my notebook to her. “If you can read my handwriting though.”

I watched as she giggled and began to flip through the pages. I had only written on the first three pages but she kept on flipping until she reached the last page and then frowned.

“Do you have a spare notebook I could borrow?” She said. “I forgot to bring mine.”

“Er-  you can write in that one.” I said. “I’ll use a different one for this period.”

“What- no!” She pouted some more before smiling again. “Can you lend me another?”

“I only have two.” I said and turned to the guy next to me. “Hey, Jonghyun, do you have a spare note-”

“Taeyong, don’t you have the notebook you took to class this morning?” Nayeon said, tugging at my arm.

I raised my eyebrow and slowly shook my head. “No, I left it at my… dorm room. Why?

“Oh, Ten said you-” she gasped, her eyebrows shooting up and her mouth forming a perfect ‘O’ as she got up to run back to where she was sitting in the last class.

“What was that?” Jonghyun said with a low chuckle, just as the teacher came in.

I sighed as I realized why Nayeon had wanted my notebook and exactly who had asked her to do this. “My roommate probably said something stupid to her.”

“Your roommate?” Jonghyun said. “He’s in our class?”

“No, he’s just-” I sighed again. “Really stupid and we made this stupid bet ugh.”

“I understood literally nothing of that.” Jonghyun laughed, making the teacher glare in our general direction. “Anyway, what are you doing after class?”

“I don’t know? Sleeping?” I mumbled, scribbling whatever the teacher had started writing on the board.

“Some of my friends are gonna hang out at a senior’s dorm. He invited us to play League of Legends.” Jognhyun whispered. “There’s probably gonna be drinks too.”

“I don’t drink but I’m up for League.”

“Cool but let’s eat something before going. I don’t want to drink on an empty stomach.”

I only nodded in response. Was I the only college student who didn’t want to spend every spare second of my life getting wasted? It didn’t even taste that good? And every person that I’ve mentioned it to agrees that it doesn’t taste good but then they say they don’t drink it for the taste. It doesn’t make sense. Also, why do people (Ten) drink if they can’t even handle it?

Speaking of Ten…

Of course, Nayeon and Ten went to the same school so he probably still had her number. But I really didn’t expect him to act so childishly over a drawing. Why did he want to know what I had drawn anyway?

Also, why didn’t I want him to see it?

  

\--

 

After classes got over, Jonghyun and I ended up eating at the college cafeteria. Which meant bland, tasteless shit. It had only been two days of living at the dorms and I was already missing my Mom’s food. And my dog, Ruby. Maybe I’ll go home next week and visit. Even though I had promised myself I wouldn’t go home until Dad went back to Japan but I was still kind of homesick.

“Which hostel does this senior stay at?” I asked Jonghyun, who was scrolling through some texts on his phone. The hostels on campus were numbered. Most of the first years were in hostel 10, which was a little far from the main administrative buildings.

“Oh, Heechul hyung? He told me he’s in hostel 1. I’ll ask again.”

I nodded and we started walking in the general direction of hostel 1. I had to admit that three lectures back to back was exhausting and going back to my room and sleeping for a while before dinner would have been nice but Ten would definitely pester me about my drawing if I went back.

Ugh, I didn’t want to have to avoid my own room for the rest of the semester.

“So yeah it is hostel 1 but Heechul hyung asked me to grab some snacks so can we head to the convenience store?”

“Sure, I need some chocolates too.”

We chatted about games in general and Jonghyun was telling me about the time his Mom wasn’t letting him into the house because he had skipped school to go to a PC bang and I could only imagine how funny he would have looked trying to convince her by acting all cute.

“I think she became angrier after I did the buing buing thing,” he managed to say between chuckles. “Anyway, let’s split up. Grab a little of everything.”

I nodded and headed to the section where they kept biscuits since I had been craving Oreos since the first period. I picked up random stuff because I didn’t know what everyone else would want. At last I found the Oreos. Oreo.

There was just one left and just as I began to reach for it someone else picked it up from the shelf.

“Hey, that’s-”

“Oh, sorry did you want this?”

I groaned mentally as I recognized that voice.

“Ten.”

“Oh, Taeyong? You want this?” He grinned, waving the packet of chocolate Oreos in my face. “I’m willing to trade if you want it.”

I eyed him sceptically. “Trade it in exchange of what, exactly?”

“Don’t play dumb, Yongie,” Ten rolled his eyes. “You know what I want.”

I sighed as I turned back to the rack of cookies, hoping I’d find a replacement for the Oreos. “Forget about the drawing, Ten. I’m not showing it to you.”

“Ugh, why not? Why are you being so stubborn about it?”

“Why are _you_ being so stubborn about it Ten?” I looked at him, already exhausted with this conversation. “It’s just a stupid drawing and I don’t want to show you just because.”

“Why? Did you-” His accent only made his voice seem shriller when he was irritated. He flung his hands around, the packet of Oreos still in his hand. Maybe I could just snatch it and run. “Did you draw me naked or something? You would have shown it in class if there was still time so why don’t you want to show it to me now? I really- HEY”

I tried to reach for the Oreos but he snatched his hand back, placing the other in front of him, jumping at least four feet back.

“Are you really going to be like this?” I said, shaking my head.

“Well, if you just-”

“Ten, did you get your Oreos?” The guy from fine arts class, uhhh what was his name? Kun? – yeah, he strolled into the aisle we were in, a basket full of snacks in his hand. “Do you need anything else?” Ten, however, was only pouting and glaring at me like I was the one who had taken the last packet of Oreos. “Oh, hey, Taeyong.”

I smiled at him. He had seemed nice and polite from our interactions so far. What was he doing grocery shopping with Ten? I opened my mouth to ask what they were up to but Ten cut me off with a cold stare.

“Kun, let’s get going if you’re done.” He said, taking the basket from Kun as he walked past me.

“Wow, so you’re really not going to give me those Oreos?” I scoffed. Kun ran after Ten giving me a wary look.

“Forget about the Oreos, Yongie.”

Ah, he was really testing my patience now. First the drawing, then the date and now this stupid nickname. 

“Don’t call me Yongie.” I called out after him.

He just threw me a peace sign, and placed the Oreos on the counter, making sure it was the first thing that the cashier scanned.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to everyone who read this even though i updated after so long  
> i'll try not to drag this story and wrap it up soon. we'll probably see Momo in a few chapters.  
> also i was thinking of writing a Xiao Jun x Hendery fic and i was wondering if you guys would be interested in reading that


End file.
